http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/National/20071029082121/Article/index_html
At the tender age of 16 years old, his father passed away and he
was forced to take over his fathers petty trading business. There
were all sorts of problems with the business, on some days he
failed to make even a single sale. In 1937, the year the Japanese
launched their war of aggression on China, he at 20 years old,
bravely set off for Malaya with a small suitcase and 175 dollars
(100 from his mother and 75 from his own savings).
In Malaya, he eventually went into iron mining; became a middleman
for heavy machinery trading; and took on government contracts for
development projects. You have correctly guessed that he had
already made himself a fortune by then. However, in 1964 when he
was a sub-contractor for part of the Cameron hydro-electric dam
project in Cameron Highlands, an evening stroll hit him upon the
idea of developing a mountaintop resort in Malaysia to cater to
city dwellers seeking an escape from the tropical heat.
After 40 years, today his publicly-traded Genting holds the only
license to operate a casino in Malaysia; his Star Cruises touts
itself as the operator of the worlds most modern and exciting
world-class fleet.